The present invention relates, in general, to motor vehicle liftgates or rear hatches and, more specifically, to accessory components mounted on such vehicle liftgate or rear hatches.
In modern vehicles, larger vehicles such as SUVs, vans and station wagons have a liftgate or rear hatch which closes a rear opening in the vehicle body. The liftgate is pivotally attached, usually by hinges, to the vehicle body structure surrounding the rear opening. The liftgate is releasably latchable to the vehicle structure by a latch mechanism so as to be movable between a closed position latched to the vehicle body structure and a pivoted, open position allowing access to the interior of the vehicle through the rear opening.
The liftgate itself is formed of a panel structure, which is stamped or otherwise formed into a panel having an upper opening for receiving a glass window. An interior trim panel is attachable to the liftgate panel to cover components mounted on the gate.
The liftgate forms a platform for a number of different accessories or components, such as a flipglass latch, a wiper motor and associated wiper arm, license plate lights, and a wash pump and/or wash nozzle. Various lights as well as the center high mounted stop light may also be mounted on the liftgate along with the liftgate latch mechanism. Other components which are usually mounted on the liftgate can include electrical contact connections to the defrost grid mounted on the liftgate glass or fiberglass.
The above-described components, such as the wiper drive motor and a window pivot lift handle, either mechanical or electronic switch-based, have been mounted on the liftgate window which may be provided as a pivotal “flipglass.” In the case of a flipglass, a latch unit has been fixed to the liftgate structure and releasably engages a striker fixedly mounted on the glass to latch the flipglass in a closed position on the liftgate or to enable the flipglass to be pivoted about hinges at an upper portion of the liftgate to a pivoted outward extending position with respect to the general plane of the liftgate.
In the case of the electronic switch-based handles, a switch is carried in a handle-like cover mounted exteriorly of the flipglass. Dedicated control wires from the switch typically extend through vehicle body-mounted wiring harnesses to the main vehicle controller, typically located in the forward portion of the vehicle, in or near the engine compartment, wherein the signal is processed by the controller and an appropriate activation signal returned along another dedicated wire to the flipglass latch to release the latch from the striker. Depending on the vehicle, this sequence may present a considerable delay between the activation of the switch and the actual release of the liftgate latch from the striker.
All of these accessories or components are manufactured separately from the liftgate panel structure and are mounted, usually one at a time, on the liftgate while the vehicle is being assembled. The mounting of each component on the liftgate panel either directly or through brackets typically requires mechanical fasteners and, usually, an electrical connection via a plug-in connector, screw terminal, etc. All of the mounting procedures, and the mechanical and electrical connections require time, multiple workers and an increased length on the vehicle assembly line. In addition, although each component can be tested at its manufacturing site, the numerous multiple mechanical and electrical connections all create additional sources of defects which may require additional checking after assembly on the liftgate.
As can be seen, all of these factors lead to a substantial assembly time for the liftgate thereby resulting in a higher than desirable cost. To address these problems, a modular approach has been proposed in which several components are separably manufactured, pretested, and assembled into a single module, with only the module having to be mounted in a single operation on a liftgate. The number of separate mechanical fasteners and electrical connections can also be reduced by this modular approach. However, the modular approach has been proposed only for a limited number of components. This has resulted in less than anticipated savings in assembly time and labor.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved modular component apparatus for vehicle liftgates in which multiple components are mounted in a single module for a single installation on the liftgate thereby improving reliability and reducing assembly costs. It would also be desirable to provide an improved modular component apparatus for vehicle liftgates in which multiple components are mounted directly on the liftgate flipglass in such a manner as to provide a large glass viewing area. It would also be desirable to provide an improved modular component apparatus for vehicle liftgates in which an electronic switch-based handle is mounted on the liftgate flipglass, with control functions implemented directly in the motor controller for immediate response by the flipglass latch.